Lou Anna K. Simon, the 20th president of Michigan State University, leads the university’s work to advance the common good in Michigan and around the world. Simon earned her doctorate at Michigan State in 1974 and held a variety of administrative roles at the university, including assistant provost for general academic administration, associate provost, and provost and vice president for academic affairs. The MSU Board of Trustees appointed her president in January 2005. As president, Simon has engaged Michigan State in a strategic and transformative journey to adapt the principles of its land-grant heritage to 21st-century challenges.

One of the most exciting campus projects being shepherded by President Simon is the U.S. Department of Energy’s $730 million Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB). It will be the world’s most-powerful rare isotope beam facility upon completion in 2022, and today is on budget and ahead of schedule. Providing over 1,000 new rare isotopes never before produced on Earth, it will more than double the research opportunities available in nuclear physics. FRIB will strengthen and diversify Michigan’s knowledge economy by leveraging the investment in cutting-edge research and training the next generation of science leaders.

President Simon also will discuss MSU’s partnership with the University of Michigan and Wayne State University in Michigan’s University Research Corridor, among other topics.